Kimber Read online

  “I’m sorry. I should have told you I was coming.” I say to Lena as I look down to the man with his back to me. It’s Leo! What’s he doing here with Lena?

  “Hungry?” Lena asks casually. Can she not see my bewilderment? “Come sit.”

  “I can come back.”

  I interpret Leo’s disregard of my presence as discontent. He thought he was safe here, I bet.

  “Nonsense. You’re my niece. Sit.” Lena orders pointing to the empty space next to her.

  I use her words to empower me. I am her niece. I’m more to her than Leo is. I have a right to be here. Lena passes us each a turkey sandwich wrapped in a plastic bag.

  “This is nice isn’t it? The three of us here together. It’s long overdue if you ask me.”

  I look from Lena to Leo. I smile, if only for her benefit. I’d say it’s more awkward than nice.

  Leo doesn’t touch the sandwich given to him. Instead he pulls out his phone, looks around, does pretty much whatever he can to ignore me. But he doesn’t leave.

  “So Kimber, Leo and I were just discussing who we thought was a more intricate artist, M.C. Escher or Alfred Alexander Gockel?”

  I don’t have a clue who either is. I can’t believe this is what they sit around discussing. I feel uncultured and like the odd man out.

  “I…um…don’t know.” I play with my sandwich.

  “That’s ok. Let’s talk about something else. Leo, what’s new with you?”

  “As much as I’d like to stay and chat, there’s somewhere else I need to be.” He declares sarcastically.

  “By that you mean anywhere I’m not.” I say standing the same time he does. He can’t just keep walking out on me. I’m done with this cat and mouse game.

  “Quite possibly.”

  “What’s your deal? If you can’t handle being around me, why’d you come back?” I snap.

  “I didn’t come back to be around you.” He fires back.

  “No you didn’t. You came back to beat the hell out of a friend.” His jaw clinches. I’ve hit a soft spot. “And you know what else, I think you poisoned me and my friends.”

  “What!” He takes on a defensive stance. His eyes narrow. “I can’t—”

  “Be open, be nice, be human.” I finish for him.

  “Ok you two. Let’s take a step back. Leo.” Lena says calling for his attention. “Kimber’s perceptive. We can’t lie to her.”

  “She’s only perceptive because she’s had you and Luke chatter boxing in her ear. You know what this means. I won’t be the hand that drags her in.”

  “Wake up! She’s already in it. If you don’t intend to let her go, which we both know you don’t, then undo the blindfold.”

  Leo’s expression becomes somber as he looks at me. I’m not sure what I’ve unknowingly been dragged into but I am sure the way out has long been passed. I’m positive now that Lena saw me coming. I suspect it’s why we’re so far out into the garden.

  “There’s only one way now.” Warmly Lena pats Leo’s shoulder. “I’ll leave you two alone.” She turns back and winks at me.

  It’s awkward, being alone with Leo. There’s enough room to run but there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Every kind of wrong feels right with him. The more I’m around him the less every worry I have seems to matter. Like he’s my own personal happy pill. It’s dangerous, says my brain but the rest of me could care less. When it all boils down, what do I have left to lose?

  As if to symbolize the weight of his situation, Leo leans against the massive tree above us. Like he can’t stand on his own. I hate how much black he’s wearing. It does nothing for his amazing eyes. Black sneakers, shorts, and a black and green graphic tee shirt. It reminds me of death. I keep waiting for him to speak. To do something so we’re not just standing here.

  He crosses his arms against his chest. “I didn’t poison anyone.”

  “Then explain it.”

  “I took it. I can give it back, to you, like I did the others.”

  Is he serious right now? Thank God we’re at a mental facility. I wonder if they have a spare straitjacket?

  “Leo, people can’t swipe other people’s memories.”

  “No, people can’t.”

  “Ok, enough. You keep doing this. For one second can you not be complicated? And stop acting like I should just know every little thing you say.”

  “Have you ever heard the word, Nephilim?” It sounds familiar but I can’t place how I know it or where from. “You should, Marie used to tell you bed time stories about them.”

  Annoyed I shake my head. “She tell you that?”

  “No, you did awhile ago. The Nephilim are their own race. They’re the offspring of Watchers.”

  “Mind elaborating?” I say gesturing with my hand for him to spill it.

  “In Heaven, there are ranks for every Angle, like in the military. Watchers are lower ranked Angels ordered to watch over humanity. It’s a long story that a thousand people could tell a thousand different ways. The main point that everyone can agree on is that the Watchers fell from Heaven, tainted by the corruption of Mastema, an Angel turned bad guy. So they fell, thus giving them the form of man. They took women as they pleased and bred a new race, Nephilim. After that the story gets fuzzy but Mastema, who tempted man to sin, eventually battled against God and lost. After that the stories go every which way.”

  “Ok, so Nephilims were the children of women created by Watchers, who are really Angels that fell.”

  “Yes. When the Watchers fell, they became Demigods among man. They created thousands of Nephilim. Most killed each other off. Others hid. Those who joined Mastema were marked as damned.”

  “So where does this Bible lesson leave me?”

  “The Nephilims that hid realized Mastema could return with the other Nephilims. For that reason they colonized and over the centuries they kept their bloodline pure. They became the new Watcher of man. When Nephilims started mainstreaming, things got a little reckless. Bloodlines were diluted. It’s not uncommon for people to have a diluted trace of Neph blood.”

  “So you’re saying that anyone could be a descendent of a Nephilim, even me?”

  “Not could be, are. You, Lena, your mother. It’s what enables Lena to see what she does. The reason Marie could sense deception.” He doesn’t mention anything special about me.

  “How can you know that?”

  “There used to be a test. Back in the day, when a couple wanted to get married they had to submit to a blood test. Nephilims were behind it with the motive to find the strongest bloodlines. If that person wasn’t already part of their colony or council they’d be tracked.”

  “So I guess by you knowing all this, you’re a descendent of a Nephilim?”

  “I’m a little more complicated than that. My family’s line traces back to the beginning. We’re amongst the purist. Hence the reason why I wouldn’t have to poison you to swipe your memory.” He pushes away from the tree and steps towards me. “Being close to me, it has to be a risk you’re willing to take. Once you know their secret they’ll want you.”

  “Who?” I ask but he doesn’t speak.

  He reaches his hand out to caress my hair but as his hand touches my face I’m hit with a piercing pain. It’s crippling. Like things in my brain are being rearranged. Leo supports my weight as my legs weaken and fail. Once the pain subsides pictures form in my mind. They’re of Leo. They flash faster than I can process. By the end they’re all there. From our first encounter to our last. I can even remember my mother’s bedtimes stories of special men who were loved by God.

  “How?” I mutter as I manage to stand and back away from his touch.

  “A perk of pure blood.” He smiles but it’s empty. “If you’re going to make a choice, Lena’s right, you shouldn’t do it blind.”

  “But if I have a diluted bloodline what choice is there? Aren’t I already in?”

  “Thousands of people have diluted blood and they’ll never know. Your case is differ
ent because of me. I won’t run away again, so distance isn’t a solution. If we’re going to be in proximity of one another—”

  “Wait. Let me process. The last time I remember seeing you.” I pause. The last time I remember seeing him I hadn’t felt much at all. I broke things off between us and everyday that went by the distance grew. I’d broken a part of him by not trusting the strength of our relationship. I left him emotionally long before he left me physically. I look at him now and see it all written on his face. The memory is just as fresh for him. “You left because of me.”

  “No. But I did keep my promise. I hoped Marie’s memory would trump mine.”

  “Then why’d you leave?”

  “Lena told you there was a dark presence around you. I’m part of those who watch. I worked for the Grigori. I couldn’t interfere. They said I was compromised.” His hands clinch into fists. “I did as they asked but when they refused my request to return, I decided to cut ties with them.”

  “The Grigori?”

  “They’re a group of Nephilim, members of the First Nine. Their old and purer than any of us. They lead us as Watchers. Still even their bloodlines aren’t as pure as they were a thousand years ago. But we heal fast, we’re stronger and faster and special in our own ways.”

  I sit back down and swallow all this new information. It’s obvious Leo is different. Even the air around him vibrates with a different energy.

  The stories my mother told of God’s special men were always the same. When evil would tempt us, God’s Watchers would save us. The older I got the less she told the story. Maybe it was because we weren’t all that religious. I’d been baptized when I was little but I couldn’t tell you who my Godmother or Godfather is. Now that I think about it the most religious person I know is Robin. But that only happened after her parent’s old house became haunted.

  “Knowing this just means you’re aware of it. It’s a whole different world with real danger.” The sound of Leo’s warning sparks a desire. Nothing can be as dark as the world I’m coming from.

  “I’m game.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  I’M SURE IT isn’t because of her impeccable timing that has Lena arriving shortly after I’ve committed to the Nephilim side of me. Leo assures her I’ve been briefed though she doesn’t seem to believe him. My decision however makes her very pleased.

  “Soon, you’ll understand what your reason is.” She says beaming at me.

  So there still is a chance that my Nephilim ancestors won’t let me down. Looks like I’ll have a forte after all.

  “Since you’re here, you’ll need to stay for a few days.” Leo says very matter of fact.

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m asking you to.”

  “Doesn’t sound like asking.” I fold my arms against my chest. I don’t remember agreeing to be his do girl.

  He looks to Lena for help and thankfully she doesn’t’ give it. “I need to track what Lena sees. I can’t do that with you there.”

  “But I thought you left so that the Grigori could take care of it?”

  “Well it doesn’t seem like they did and I don’t have the privilege of just asking ‘em anymore.”

  “Why me?”

  “The aftermath of death is unpredictable. People are weak in times like that.”

  I’d been weak and out of his reach for help. Whatever the dark presence is, I unknowingly allowed it in.

  “I want in on this.” Though I’m not a hundred percent sure what this entails.

  “It doesn’t work like that. It’s attached to you by something.”

  “You asked me accept the risk. I am. I want to help.”

  “And you can do that by keeping yourself safe.” Lena interjects.

  Great, two on one. Just as I’m about to state my case and list what I know are no good reasons, Leo takes my hands in his. A rush of warmth spreads through me. I could lose myself in his touch. His hands are warm and gentle.

  “This is why I used to lie. There were no family reunions or doctor appointments. You’ve known about this for twenty minutes and you’re already thinking destructive. Who or whatever is behind this wants something from you. Let’s not make it so easy to get.”

  “I’m just saying, if I opened a receptive part of myself to this thing—”

  “Stop!” Leo interjects. He runs his fingers through his hair in an aggravated manner. “Can you please talk some sense into her?”

  “Kimber, Leo knows what he’s talking about. Why don’t you stay for a day or two?” Lena asks trying to defuse the situation.

  “I know you’re not crazy Lena so don’t take it personally but a mini vaca at an insane asylum really isn’t my thing.”

  Leo glairs at me before shaking his head and storming off.

  Lena and I walk back up to and through the facility in silence. I know she’d rather I stay. Besides if it were life or death Lena would say something. She wouldn’t risk my life just to teach me a lesson. I know there is more to all this than a simple, stay put because I said so, explanation. My intuition tells me to jump on my hunch.

  “What’s the real reason Lena? Why is Leo acting like this?”

  Lena takes me by the arm, leading me back down the extended hallway, away from the front desk.

  “Leo and I don’t see eye to eye on everything. What I’m going to tell you I only tell you because you come first to me.”

  I nod

  “It all goes back to Luke.” My heart drops. “Luke isn’t a full blooded Nephilim like Leo but now a days the Grigori are desperate to have anyone they can. They told Leo to leave and in his place, they put Luke. Leo was furious. They swore to protect you. He never would have left if he knew what they intended.”

  “So it was all a lie. There is no darkness?”

  “Not exactly. A Nephilims true nature is destructive. Mastering control, dominating urges takes discipline and sometimes crude force. Grigori recruits are trained that way from birth. And for Pures, with the Awakening it’s even more important.”

  “Awakening?”

  “A near death experience that awakens the supernatural element in a Pure, giving them access to their Angel side. Leo’s family controls one of the highest councils. It won’t look good once they learn that he’s left the Grigori and there’s no telling what extremes they’ll go to in order to set him straight. The Grigori will assume he’s gone rogue.”

  “What does any of that have to do with me?”

  Her lips twist into a somber smile. “He loves you.”

  And then it all makes sense.

  “But they don’t see me as being good enough. He’s Pure and I’m just diluted. I broke things off and they used that as a way to conform him.”

  “Or a way to use you as leverage. But until we know for sure we have to focus on the here and now. Leo is walking a very tight rope. There’s no room for error. If you insist on going back, stay close to Leo. No matter what he says, you’re safe nowhere else but with him.” I nod, hug her tightly and start my journey back down to Florida without Leo by my side.

  By the time I land in Florida my mind is warped. I’ve accepted Leo and the consequences of being associated with him. I’ve grown a new dislike for Luke. I don’t blame him for being the Grigoris puppet but he signed my warrant.

  I don’t know how big or bad this darkness that chases me is or what I can do to stop it. I don’t understand why Leo told me everything he did if I have nothing to contribute. What was it he wanted, my approval? No. Everything with Leo leads to a dead end and now the Grigori is hell bent on my destruction. Knowing what Leo is might help in understanding his actions. On the other hand, maybe being left in the dark wasn’t such a bad thing.

  Every logical thought I’ve had in the past twelve hours dissipates at the sight of Leo sitting on the trunk of my car in the airport parking lot. The shadows of night form worried circles under his eyes. His dirty blond hair is tousled. His elbows rest on his knees as he leans forward, scrolling through his ph
one. As I walk over, his eyes peek up from under his brow and he slides off the car.

  “Three conditions.” He says as I come to stand in front of him. “One: Never, at any point, are you alone with him.” I nod, knowing that he’s referring to Luke. “Two: You can’t question anything I say. You must take my direction without hesitation.” I nod. “Three, if he takes, touches or threatens you, I won’t hesitate. I will kill him.” He pauses, giving it time for his words to sink in. “There are no exceptions to these conditions. If at any point in time you try to argue, I’ll take matters into my own hands. I won’t risk your safety even if you feel there’s no threat. If you want to do this, we do it my way.” He folds his arms across his chest. His lips pressed into a hard line yet still so delectably tempting.

  “I promise.”

  I’m not sure what he means by taking things into his own hands. I’m sure some sort of mind tweaking is what he has in store for me. If the tables were turned, I would be as careful and disciplined as Leo. He will not risk my life just as I would not risk his.

  He walks around to the passenger side of my car and opens the door. I try to hold back my smile but I just can’t. I don’t feel like I’ve won anything but I do feel like I’m not so alone anymore.

  Chapter Seventeen

  IT’S LATE BY the time Leo and I arrive at my condo. Being home doesn’t comfort the dread of uncertainty I feel. This time when Leo offers to walk me up I accept.

  The elevator up to my condo seems to take forever. With every passing moment I become increasingly aware of Leo, the soft exhale of his breath, his broad shoulders, and how the push of one button and two minutes could elevate so much tension. I feel like a loaded spring in need of his touch to uncoil. He shifts uncomfortably rubbing the back of his neck where, incidentally, my eyes had been locked as I daydreamed.

  By the time we reach my front door I’m longing for the softness of my bed and the feather feeling of my down pillows. I fumble with my keys until Leo kindly takes them from me to open the door.